tree families

•I like well drained soils in eastern Canada and the US

•I am part of a large aromatic deciduous group that often has compound leaves which can reach up to 100 cm in length

•My family members are wind pollinated and our nuts have an outer husk that can be known to release compounds that prevent other species of plants from growing beneath our crowns

Our timber products are highly valued and our nuts are edible

Juglandaceae-the Walnut family

•My leaves are opposite and I may have stipules.

•My relatives are wind pollinated so our flowers are dioecious (separate male and female flowers).

•Many members of my family sucker easily and like to grow in moist places but many of us are also used ornamentally.

Salicaceae-the Willow family

•My family produces fruits which are pods that split open along two seams to reveal my seeds.

•Our flowers contain 5 petals and 5 sepals.

•Our family has compound leaves – often pinnately compound or even double pinnately compound.

•Many members of my family are used extensively in urban areas in landscaping as we have the ability to withstand both alkaline soils and drought – we are not native to Canada but have naturalized in many areas of southern Canada.

Fabaceae-the Pea family

•Members of this family are found in the temperate and subarctic portions of the Northern hemisphere, in tropical mountains, in the Andes, and even in Argentina.

•This family includes nut-bearing trees and shrubs and trees and shrubs that bear small nuts known as nutlets or even short winged samaras.

•Wind pollination is common and male and female flowers are found on the same plant.

•Leaves are simple, alternate, and have serrated margins.

•Wood of family members is tough, hard and heavy, and many members serve as ornamental trees and shrubs today.

Betulaceae- the birch family

•This family is found throughout North America in temperate areas and is used in landscaping and prized for wood carving.

•Only one species is native to Canada and it is found in Eastern forests.

•Leaves are simple, alternate, and the leaf base is asymmetrical.

•Flowers are very fragrant.

Fruits are a nut-like capsule attached to a bract that contain one seed with the ability to remain dormant for long periods of time.

Tiliaceae-the Linden Family

•My family contains many nut bearing species with a great deal of diversity but we all prefer moist, rich, well-drained soils.

•My family members like neighborhoods with sugar maples, yellow birches, and even eastern hemlocks.

•For the most part we have long slender buds, simple alternate leaves, some of us have bristly husks that cover our nuts, we all have our pollen and seed flowers on the same trees.

•Our family members are important in landscaping, for use as hardwoods, and for their nuts for humans and wildlife.

•Fagaceae – The Beech and Oak Family

•This family can be found across subtropical Eastern North America and only one species is native to Canada.

•Stamens and pistils are arranged in a unique spiral pattern forming cone-like aggregates.

•Terminal buds are very large and bark is aromatic while leaves are simple.

•Members of this family are often planted ornamentally, used in medicine, and used for woodworking.

•Magnoliaceae- (Tulip tree)

•Most members of this family are fairly drought tolerant and in Western Canada they are found in the Southern interior of BC.

•Some members tolerate alkaline soils.

•Species in this family can be trees or large shrubs but leaves are simple and often have a silvery appearance.

•Flowers may be sweet scented and fruits of native species support many wildlife and are important to first nations people.

•Some species in this family are now considered invasive in British Columbia.

•Elaeagnaceae – the Oleaster family

•This family has a species that was introduced from China and one from Siberia that are often found in urban areas and can be quite a nuisance. Sadly many of our native members of this family have fallen due to disease.

•The three species of this family that are native to Canada reside in Mid to Eastern region forests.

•Leaves are simple and alternate but the bases are asymmetrical and the veins are very prominent on the back.

•Fruit can be a single winged seed that matures from a flower with a superior ovary.

•Often members of this family are planted ornamentally, wood is hard and traditionally used for items like hockey sticks and fruit baskets,

•Ulmaceae – the Elm family

•This tree family is very large and diverse especially in our Eastern Canadian forests but species can be found throughout Canada.

•Leaves are opposite, mostly simple, but have palmate venation in most species.

•Leaf scars are often crescent shaped with 3 vein bundle scars.

•Flowers have 5 petals and 5 sepals and the fruit is a schizocarp (also known as a double samara).

•This family is important for its wood, sap, for animals, and as ornamental trees.

Aceraceae – the Maple family

•Members of this family are very diverse and can be found throughout North America.

•This family includes both trees and shrubs with leaves that are variable depending on the species.

•Many species have an inferior ovary, 5 petals and 5 sepals, numerous stamens and fruits can be berries, pomes, or even drupes.

•People and animals rely on this family for fruit.

•Rosaceae (apple tree)

•Some people like to drink the juice from the berries of the trees and shrubs in this family.

•The flowers in this family are born as clusters surrounded by 4 bracts and leaf venation is arcuate.

•Leaves are simple with smooth margins and prominent veins.

Branches and stems are tough and were used to make daggers but today many species are used ornamentally.

•Cornaceae – the Dogwood family

•Members of this family have been planted throughout North America and some species are used to track the arrival of the growing season.

•Leaves are either simple or pinnately compound depending on the species.

•Wood is prized for its tough hardness and unique flexibility.

•Seeds are either born in capsules or large drooping clusters.

•Some species have fallen prey in large numbers to an introduced beetle.

•Oleaceae – the Olive family

•The one species of tree native to Canada in this family is restricted to a narrow belt along the pacific coast.

•Bark peels from the tree trunks and newly exposed bark is bright green and photosynthetic.

•Leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, with smooth margins.

•Flowers are urn-shaped and fruits appear as clusters of berries.

•Ericaceae – the Heath family

•Trees in this family can be found in North America, Asia, and Eastern Europe and most prefer to inhabit areas along streams and lakes.

•Bark is often scaly like a jigsaw puzzle.

•Flowers can occur in round balls forming clusters of dry achenes.

•Mature trees can be very large reaching up to 170ft tall.

•Members of this family are used in landscaping and for the manufacture of small specialty items.

Platanaceae – the Sycamore family

•My family contains small trees and shrubs that prefer moist shaded sites and we are native to the understory of forests in Eastern North America.

•Our leaves are simple and alternate with irregular margins.

•Flowers are bright yellow with 4 strap-like petals.

•Young twigs are hairy while older bark is smooth to scaly.

•Members of my family can be used medicinally.

•Hamemelidaceae – the Witch Hazel family

•This family has trees with large heart-shaped leaves and they are planted throughout Canada and the US.

•The trees have “bean-like” capsules that contain seeds with 2 wings.

•Leaf scars are prominent and flowers have 5 fused petals in the shape of a trumpet.

•Pests can be a problem with this family.

Bignoniaceae – the Trumpet Creeper family

•There is only one species in my family and although this species is deciduous it is rather closely related to the conifers.

•Leaves are fan-shaped and may have a notch in the tip creating 2 lobes.

•Trees have male pollen cones similar to catkins.

•Mature trees are large, long lived and considered by many to be spiritual.

•Ginkgoaceae – the Maidenhair family

•This family has members planted in North temperate regions and in Canada some species are native in Southwestern Ontario.

•The family can be distinguished by the distinct palmately compound leaves, the large racemes of flowers, and large quantities of nuts that are produced.

•Wood can be used from this family for small items and pulp but young shoots and the nuts are toxic.

•Hippocastanaceae – the Horsechestnut family

•This family has members in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere and prefers moist soils.

•Often family members can be found living with birch and alder trees.

•Leaves may be alternate or opposite but are generally oval in shape and tips may be blunt or have an acute point depending on the species.

•Leaf veins are distinct.

•Fruits are berry-like and parts of many of the trees and shrubs in this family can be used medicinally.

•Rhamnaceae – the Buckthorn family